Hayden football beats Columbus, sets up Holton rematch in state semifinals

By winning a 3A quarterfinal match at Columbus 39-19, the Hayden football team set up a rematch with Holton, the only team to beat Hayden this season.

Hayden was dominated by Holton 37-13 on Oct. 14. Hayden will get another shot at 10-1 Holton, which won at Girard 47-27 to advance to the semifinals.

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Finn Dunshee sparks Hayden offense

Against Columbus, Hayden used long, time-consuming drives, peppered with big plays at key moments, to improve to 10-1. Running back Finn Dunshee broke off runs of 67 and 60 yards to spark the offense. In all, the Wildcats racked up 277 yards on 28 rushing attempts.

“The field was really muddy and slick,” Hayden coach Bill Arnold said. “We had some plays that I thought could have been bigger plays, but we kind of lost our footing a little bit. But for the most part, I thought we executed very well. The guys up front did a great job enabling us to sustain drives to keep the chains moving.”

The Columbus Titans were the Cinderella team of the 3A bracket. They entered the playoffs with an unsightly 3-5 record but proceeded to upset Burlington and Galena to reach the third round of the playoffs. They entered the match with Hayden on a four-game winning streak.

But the Cinderella story had a disappointing ending Friday night for Columbus. Dunshee spoiled the script from the start. On the game’s first play from scrimmage, the junior took a handoff and outran the Titan defense for a 60-yard touchdown.

“Things went really well right out of the gate tonight,” Arnold said. “It was nice to get that quick score. We knew that if it was going to be a successful night, we needed to come out of the gate strong.”

More:Bill Arnold on Hayden football, the Wing-T and winning

One week ago, Hayden overcame a spate of turnovers to defeat previously unbeaten Wellsville. Hayden fell behind 13-0 in that game but scratched out a win 22-19.

Hayden’s trouble holding onto the football reared its ugly head again at Columbus. Leading 8-0 and poised at the three-yard line to punch in a second score, the Wildcats fumbled a handoff. But Hayden held Columbus to a three-and-out and retook possession at the Titan 29-yard line.

Hayden then scored on another one-play drive. Quarterback Jett Wahlmeier threw to blazing wideout Jensen Schrickel, who scampered to the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown, atoning for the fumble.

“Last week, it rained the whole time,” Arnold said of the win over Wellsville. “We didn’t handle that very well. Tonight, I thought we did a good job of handling the wet conditions out there. We had that one turnover, but overall, we took care of the ball.”

Hayden added a short touchdown run by Dunshee to lead 22-6 midway through the second quarter. Columbus tried to make it interesting with a touchdown pass with 4:45 left in the first half to make it 25-12. But the Titans never threatened Hayden again.

The Wildcats tacked on a field goal by Schrickel and an 11-yard scoring run by Braydn Rose to go up 32-12 in the second half. When Columbus went to the air to try to move the ball quickly, Schrickel picked off a pass and ran it 35 yards for another score.

“I thought the defense did a really good job with the exception of giving up a long pass in the second quarter,” Arnold said. “Outside of that, our kids played tough.”

A rematch with Holton looms in the 3A semifinals

Quarterback Brett Hamilton was a one-man gang for the Titans. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound senior carried the ball 35 times for 204 yards and the Titans’ first touchdown. He also passed for 121 yards and two touchdowns. But the Wildcats’ frustrated the Titans’ passing game, forcing Hamilton into just eight completions on 21 attempts. Hayden picked off Hamilton twice late in the contest, effectively sealing the deal.

“I thought our defensive ends did a good job of keeping (Hamilton) boxed in,” Arnold said. “At the same time, we want to keep him boxed in, but you’ve still got to be able to tackle up the middle. He is a big kid. He should be tired. He touched the ball a lot tonight, but I thought we did a good of tackling him.”

If Hayden thought they faced a bruising rushing attack at Columbus, they can expect more of the same on their return trip to Holton. Hayden will be on the road for the third consecutive game of the playoffs.

“That’s what happens when you don’t win your district,” Arnold said. “We would most definitely love to be playing at home. But we can’t really complain about it. It’s a situation we’re familiar with. We played up there earlier this year. Or at least we showed up up there. I’m not really sure that we played.”

Dunshee opened the first meeting with Holton with a 90-yard kickoff return for a score. But unlike Friday at Columbus, Hayden had little after that. They fell behind 24-7 in the first half and never recovered.

“They’re a really good team,” Arnold said of Holton. “We’re excited about the opportunity to put forth a better effort than we did last time.”

This time a berth in the state championship game will be at stake. The 3A championship will be played at Hutchinson Community College on Nov. 26.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Hayden football wins 3A substate, sets up rematch with Holton